


the sun comes down the mountains

by mediocregrace



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: College AU, M/M, Uni AU, harry only dates nick for like 3 seconds i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-10 18:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15297819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mediocregrace/pseuds/mediocregrace
Summary: “Wow,” Harry said, speaking for the first time in a while, “I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that. I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with coming out in high school if I didn’t have my parents’ support.”“It wasn’t all bad, my mom and siblings were all very supportive. But, he was one of the reasons I decided I needed to get away from home. I couldn’t breathe there anymore, so I moved to Idaho for an adventure.”Harry smiled at the thought, “And has it been enough of an adventure yet?”With a glint in his eye, Louis responded, “Not nearly enough. I won’t settle until I’ve explored the whole country.”or, the one where Louis moves to Idaho for an adventure and gets a hell of a lot more than he bargained for





	1. new slang - the shins

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's been years since I've posted fic anywhere (I used to post on ff.net back when citrus ratings were a thing, so that tells you how old I am lmao), but I hope you guys like this!   
> I'm an Idahoan and this is shamelessly set at my university, and I think I'm going to include some pictures of the actual locations I talk about when I post this to tumblr. Most of the events in this are based on my actual life (yeah, the TA thing really happened to a degree) . The title of the fic is actually what people believed Idaho meant for a long time. The person who invented the word claimed it was a Shoshone word but he literally pulled it out of his ass, so, enjoy that trivia.   
> Anyway, you can find me on tumblr at heterophobiclarry, where I'll probably be posting some exclusive content related to this fic so - shameless self promo - follow me!

Louis smiled to himself as he crossed off yet another day on his countdown calendar to the big move. After years of wanting to escape his dead-end small town, he was finally going to move on to bigger and better things as he started college in the next state over. As a long time bleeding-heart liberal, he'd been asked over and over how he'd decided on moving to the solidly red state, and his answer was always the same, "I just want to have different experiences than I've grown up having, and Idaho seems like the place to have them." 

Louis' choice in degree path surprised absolutely nobody that knew him well, he was pursuing political science in the hopes of making it big in politics someday. He was full of nerves to be leaving his family that he loved very much, but also incredibly excited to begin college life. 

____ 

The first few weeks of college went by in a blur of illegally obtained alcoholic drinks, freshman orientation activities that bred week-long friendships, and dining hall food that Louis feared would permanently damage his digestive system. 

He'd gotten into a pretty good routine - wake up before his annoying roommate, go for a walk in the school's arboretum because he'd promised his mom that he'd exercise, and then have mediocre breakfast at the dining hall before his 10:30 lecture and then thirst after the hot teacher's assistant in said 10:30 lecture. He was genuinely enjoying his time in college but he was feeling like he'd fallen into the same stagnation that forced him out of his hometown because he wasn't satisfying his thirst for living and experiencing the best things that life had to offer. 

So, naturally he decided to get a piercing to shake up his life a little bit. Feeling a weird surge of confidence, he told the piercer that he wanted a nostril piercing instead of the earlobe piercing he'd initially come to the shop for. 

\---- 

"Whoa, I love your piercing", was the first thing that Louis heard when he walked into the lecture hall that morning. He turned to see the hot teacher's assistant, in all his 6 feet of heavily tattooed glory. 

Louis smiled, realizing that this could be his way in with the TA. "Thanks! I was feeling like I didn't have enough excitement in my life, so I decided to spice things up a little bit." 

"That's really awesome! I wish I had the confidence to do that, it looks incredible on you. You know, if you want some excitement... I just got elected as the president of the Political Science club and so far...well, I'll just say it's been pretty heated. If you're a polisci major you might like it." 

Louis pondered the idea for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I've been looking for a club to join because I haven't really made any friends yet." 

The hot TA beamed, "Great! There's actually a meeting tomorrow night, I could pick you up if you wanted to go, that way you wouldn't have to go in alone." 

"Awesome," Louis said with a smile "I'll give you my number so that we can meet up somewhere." 

The TA responded by handing over his phone, "Just put your number in and I'll text you" 

Louis did so and returned the phone, "Anyway, I should sit down. I didn't finish the reading." 

Louis walked away, finding a seat that wasn't too close or too far from the front, a technique that he'd perfected in his first weeks in college. He was startled by a notification from his phone: 

"Hey, it's Harry from POLS225 :P" 

 

\---- 

The Political Science Club meeting wasn't anywhere near as awkward as Louis imagined it would be. Sure - it had people from all over the political spectrum, many of whom had beliefs directly opposite his, but he and Harry spent most of the meeting talking among themselves and not really paying attention anyway. They'd built up quite a foundation for a friendship over the last day and a half, texting almost constantly about the class they shared and getting to know each other. 

As they walked out, Harry turned to Louis and asked, "Do you want me to drive you back to your dorm? My apartment is kind of in that direction anyway so it's no trouble for me." 

It was cold and Louis didn't really feel like doing the fifteen-minute walk back to the dorms in the dark, so he accepted the offer and got into the passenger seat of Harry's car. They chatted easily before Louis decided to mention an issue that was bothering him, "So, I'm a little worried about the midterm. What is it like?" 

"Oh, it's really not bad. I can help you study for it, if you'd like. I worked way harder than necessary when I studied for it last semester." 

\--- 

Harry and Louis had quickly become pretty good friends in the weeks that they'd known each other. They would leave their shared class together, and since they both had some time after class, often got lunch together in the food court. 

Despite their weeks of conversation, nothing could have prepared Louis for discovering that Harry had a boyfriend. Harry had asked if Louis had any fun plans for the weekend. "Yeah, you know Niall from our class, right? He and I were going to drive up to Moose Creek and hike around there." 

Harry smiled and nodded, "That's a fun place to go! I think my boyfriend and I might go see his family this weekend because we're sick of having to pay do to laundry and cook for ourselves." 

Trying to hide his shock, Louis faked a smile, "Well, I get free laundry in the dorms if you ever want to stay in town and still get it for free." 

Harry laughed, and they moved on from the subject. 

\--- 

Niall and Louis chatted easily as they drove to Moose Creek. 

"So, how's it going with Mr. Hot TA? I always see you two texting each other during class." 

Louis blushed, "I can't believe I didn't tell you. Yesterday, I found out that he has a fucking boyfriend!" 

“That’s rough mate.” Niall responded with a shrug, as they neared their destination. 

Niall had grown up in the area, so he deftly navigated the dirt roads leading to what he referred to as "the secret creek", until they reached a point where the car couldn't get any further, "We have to park and walk from here, it's only about a mile." 

Louis followed the Idaho native's footsteps, grateful to be with someone who knew the area well. 

When they finally reached the creek that Niall had been raving about, Louis was blown away. He knew that the Idaho wilderness was pretty, but he hadn't had a real chance to explore it until now. He examined the green-blue water and the surrounding forest before plopping down in the grass next to Niall, who was digging in his backpack. 

Niall raised his eyebrows, "I brought the good stuff", as he pulled out a ziplock bag containing some joints and another bag full of chips. 

"A man after my own heart." Louis said smiling as he held out his hand to accept a joint. 

\---- 

Harry sighed as he checked the clock for the fourth time in the last few minutes. His boyfriend was late to pick him up for dinner yet again. He knew what was going on, that Nick was out with someone else, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself, didn’t want to make his nightmare into a reality. 

He shot his boyfriend a quick text letting him know that he wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to go to dinner anyway, receiving an impersonal “Ok. Feel better!” in return. 

He rolled his eyes as he went back to his room and took his shoes off. He plopped down in bed, fully prepared to wallow until he fell asleep for the night. He wasn’t expecting to receive a text from Louis: 

“So this might be weird but some shit went down and I kind of need someone. Are you busy?” 

Harry was already outside with his keys in the ignition by the time he hammered out a response to Louis. “I’ll be at the dorms in a minute. Do you want to go to the bagel shop? I’ll pay.” 

\----- 

The bagel shop was a frequent stop for many students in town because it was one of the few places that was open after 9 pm, but both Harry and Louis were grateful that at this time, it was relatively empty. 

“You can go find a table and I’ll go order. What do you want?” Harry asked with a small smile. 

“I like #28, thanks.”, replied Louis, as he wandered off to one of the tables situated in the corner for more privacy. 

After what felt like an eternity to Louis, Harry arrived at the table with two foil-wrapped bagels, “So, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he asked with concern. 

Louis grimaced, thinking carefully before opening his mouth, “There’s a lot of family issues going on right now. My mom and I were on the phone and she told me that my dad is leaving her. I don’t even care because he’s an asshole but I have a lot of younger siblings and I’m worried about them.” 

Harry smiled at him sympathetically, “Do you think you should head home and see if everyone’s okay? I know I can get you excused from Ben’s class at least.” 

Louis chewed on his bagel for a minute before answering, “I’m not sure, I’ll talk to my mom about it and see what she thinks.” 

“So, uh...” Harry paused, trying to get the wording correct, “if you don’t mind my asking, why don’t you get along with your father? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” 

Louis laughed, “And miss an opportunity to talk about how much I hate him? No thanks. It is a long story, though.” 

“That’s alright, I have all night.” said Harry, gesturing for Louis to go on. 

Louis rambled for over an hour about how, when he’d come out in high school, his father went through a variety of methods to ensure that nobody ever found out that his son was bisexual, including isolation and forbidding him from seeing men whatsoever, as well as all but forcing him to date any girl that so much as knew his name. Louis went on about the deep, psychological wounds that his father’s denial and bigotry had imparted on him. By the end Louis was hastily wiping tears from his eyes, laughing at his own sensitivity. 

“Wow,” Harry said, speaking for the first time in a while, “I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that. I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with coming out in high school if I didn’t have my parents’ support.” 

“It wasn’t all bad, my mom and siblings were all very supportive. But, he was one of the reasons I decided I needed to get away from home. I couldn’t breathe there anymore, so I moved to Idaho on an adventure.” 

Harry smiled at the thought, “And has it been enough of an adventure yet?” 

With a glint in his eye, Louis responded, “Not nearly enough. I won’t settle until I’ve explored the whole country.” 

\--- 

Louis wasn’t really a fan of group projects, because he always felt like he ended up being the only one who did any work, so when his environmental politics professor announced the upcoming group project, Louis could barely contain his groan of disdain. 

He ended up being put in a group with two guys that he thought he might actually get along with, Zayn and Liam. Zayn introduced himself as an “environmental science student who has more reusable water bottles than friends”, and Liam introduced himself as Zayn’s boyfriend. 

Over the course of that particular class session, Louis decided that he quite liked his group, and figured the project might not be that miserable after all. 

“So, let’s all meet up at my apartment tonight at like, 7 to work out the rest of the details? If you give me your number, I can text you the address,” Zayn said to Louis.


	2. fire and the flood - vance joy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weed, excessive discussions about political theory, and protests. What more could anyone need?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to anyone who read my first chapter and maybe even enjoyed it - I'll marry all of you while I still can. Since that was the kind of, expository chapter, things pick up speed from here and we get the Good Shit after this chapter, so bear with me while I tie up some ends and get there.  
> Also, I actually made "Harry's Playlist" which you can find here: https://open.spotify.com/user/grace_hibler/playlist/3Vl7RDNeJgTdJT5DsDODfU and we'll find out if links work in the chapter notes. If not, you can find the link when the playlist is mentioned in the text of the chapter.   
> Thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr at heterophobiclarry, where I'll be posting exclusive content related to this story, such as additional playlists and pictures of the actual locations mentioned in the fic (because it's set in my college town lmao)

As the fall semester drew to a close, Louis decided that group projects weren’t so bad after all. Several weed-fueled hangout sessions over the course of the semester since the initial meeting had led to a fairly close friendship between Louis and the couple, Liam and Zayn. This was amplified by the fact that he had several classes with Liam, who was also a political science major, and he spent the majority of his free time at their apartment.

“Hey, would you guys mind if I brought someone else over one day? It’s Niall from Foreign Policy, so you might know him, Liam.”

Liam perked up, “Oh yeah I’ve had a couple classes with him! He’ s hilarious, he’s welcome anytime.”

“Yeah, he’s really cool. He’s smoked me out so many times and I’ve been staying with him to get away from my dumb shit roommate, since he doesn’t have one.”

Zayn smiled sympathetically, “Is he still being homophobic?”

“It’s not that bad, he’s just really passive aggressive. When Harry was over, he kept glaring at him and making weird comments. Even though I told him that Harry has a boyfriend.”

Liam joined the conversation, “Well, if you ever want to stay here, the spare room is all yours.” adding, “And I think you should report him to the residential office. Maybe you’ll be able to move to a different dorm for the spring semester.”

\---

Louis spent most of his winter break wishing that he was back at school. He loved playing with his younger siblings, as well as celebrating his birthday and Christmas, but the feeling that filled the hole where his father would have been, created a rather uncomfortable atmosphere for everyone.

His mood was temporarily lifted when he received the email that he could, in fact, move dorms for the upcoming semester to get away from his homophobic roommate, and move into Niall’s. He shot Niall a text:

“Hey, did you get the email? RHA said that I could move in with you when we get back for spring semester!”

His last few days at home went by quicker than expected, because of the excitement caused by the news he had received, and before he knew it, he was hugging his mom and siblings and walking out the door.

\----

Harry didn’t really know what he expected, breaking up with his boyfriend right after Christmas, but he figured that it was better to do it before the semester started so that he could do his best to start fresh.

Despite knowing that he’d made the right decision, he reflected on the conversation and wondered where exactly it went wrong.

He had returned early from winter break after he decided to break up with Nick, and knowing that Nick’s family lived in town, he’d asked him to come over when he had free time. Harry had planned out how he was going to do it, exactly the words he was going to say, but when he saw Nick, they all came out in the wrong way before he could stop them.  
“I can’t be with you anymore. I don’t enjoy it. I hate sitting at home, knowing you’re out with someone else and I’m just the dumb ass who lets his boyfriend cheat without even trying to stop it. I’m not stupid, Nick.”

Nick had tried to come up with excuses but Harry wasn’t having any of it, and the more they talked, the angrier he got.

“You just don’t want to feel guilty when you fuck Louis. I know that you’ve been thirsting after him since you met him.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, “Get out.” he pointed at the door.

Nick rolled his eyes. “I knew it.”

“Get the fuck out, Nick. I’ll call the fucking police if you don’t leave right now.” replied Harry, turning red.

Nick slammed the door on his way out.

\-----

Louis was enjoying his new classes, but he couldn’t help being a little bit sad. Since Harry wasn’t his TA anymore, they didn’t see each other as often outside of Political Science Club. They’d had a few brief text conversations but, Louis was worried that he’d done something to upset Harry, so he did what any normal person would do.

One night after Political Science Club, he’d hurried out the door after Harry when it ended and grabbed onto his arm. “Hey! I feel like we haven’t talked in a while and I miss hanging out.”

Harry gave him a small smile, “I’m sorry about that, I’m dealing with some shit right now and I haven’t really felt up to socializing much.”

“Do you want to talk about it? We can get bagels and I’ll listen.” Louis offered sympathetically.

Harry paused, unsure if he wanted to talk to Louis about it, or if it was even appropriate to do so, but his mouth worked quicker than his mind, “Sure, that sounds alright.”

\----

Through a mouthful of bagel, Harry said “And so, after like, fucking weeks of me knowing he was cheating, he had the audacity to accuse me of cheating.”

Louis scoffed, “What a douche. You’re better off without him, clearly.”

Harry half-smiled, “I know, but I’m still sad, you know? Logically, I know he was dragging me down, but emotionally it...well, sucks.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, you’re allowed to feel emotions that you can’t really explain. Just don’t let them stop you from doing things that make you happy.”

Harry frowned for a second, “Speaking of things that don’t make me happy, I’m not prepared for the inauguration. I love politics but honestly Trump is ruining it for me.”

Louis laughed, “I know what you mean. You’re going to the protest right? I’m going with a couple guys from class, Niall too. You should come with us.”

“I might, I’ll let you know”, replied Harry with a smile, knowing that he would accept the offer.

\---

The first time that Louis brought Niall with him to see Liam and Zayn, it went far better than one would expect from a gathering of political science students. Weed, music and snacks were shared, and Louis finally felt like he understood what people meant when they said that they found their lifelong friends in college.

Somewhere in between Niall and Liam’s unnecessarily excited conversation about the impact of rational political ambition theory on the United States’ views on the rise of China, and Zayn nearly dying from swallowing a Dorito whole, Louis realized that he felt at home.

He got up to go to the bathroom, still reveling in his feeling of belonging, but he was plagued with the knowledge that the group would be improved by the presence of one person in particular. He pulled out his phone to send a text to Harry, only to discover that he’d actually already received a text from him.

“Hey, I’m having a really hard time right now. Can you come over?”

Louis stomach churned with nerves at the idea of being in Harry’s apartment but accepted regardless, because he wanted to be there for his friend. He headed out of the bathroom and told his friends that an emergency had come up and he needed to leave.

“Niall, do you want a ride?” he asked with urgency.

Zayn spoke up, “We can drive him back to the dorms when he wants to go. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis said, breathless, “Harry just needs me right now.”

Liam raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment on it.

\----

Louis checked his phone again to be sure that he’d driven to the right address. When he was relatively sure, he texted Harry to let him know he was outside. Harry replied, letting him know that he would be down in a second.

When Harry appeared next to Louis’ car, Louis rolled down the window to hear Harry ask, “Can we just... drive somewhere and blast some music?”

Louis smiled, “Only if it’s good music.”

Harry laughed as he walked around to the passenger seat and opened the door. [“If your music taste is good, you’ll like it.”](https://open.spotify.com/user/grace_hibler/playlist/3Vl7RDNeJgTdJT5DsDODfU)

Harry reached for the aux and started his playlist, as Louis pulled out of the parking lot.

He turned to Harry, “Where do you want to go?”

Harry sighed, “Just...anywhere but here.”

Louis nodded and started heading toward Coeur d’Alene. He’d never been, but he figured that now was as good a time as any to explore a bit. He was about to ask Harry what was going on but stopped in his tracks when he heard Harry softly singing along to the music. He was surprised to discover that Harry had quite a good voice.

As much as he enjoyed listening to Harry’s voice, his curiosity got the best of him, “What’s going on? Are you doing okay?”

Harry sighed, “I’m... I’m fine now. Nick came over earlier to get his stuff and things got... heated.”

Louis ignored the jealousy that flared up in his chest at the idea that Harry and Nick may have done something, “You guys...did you get back together?”

A laugh shot out and Harry clapped his hand over his mouth, composing himself before answering, “I see where you got it but I didn’t mean ‘heated’ like that. I meant that he shoved me into a wall and screamed at me.”

Louis gasped, “Are you okay? That’s awful.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Trust me, he’s done worse.” and left it at that.

They drove on in comfortable silence, enjoying the music, before Harry broke the silence, “I’ll go with you to the protest. I don’t have anything going on this weekend.”

 

\---

Louis and Harry caught eyes from across Liam and Zayn’s living room, where they, along with Niall, were making signs in preparation for the protest the following morning.

Just as they had taken to Niall, Liam and Zayn welcomed Harry into the group with open arms. Harry and Liam realized that they’d actually met in a class the year prior and were able to bond over their shared hatred for the professor they’d had.

Before they knew it, several hours had passed and everyone really needed to sleep, so everyone went their separate ways.

Niall and Louis hopped in the car to head back to their dorm. Before starting the car, Niall turned to Louis, “I can see what you like about Harry. He’s so charismatic.”

“Yeah, he’s been a really good friend and honestly, I’d love to date him some day. I’m not sure if he’s ready for that right now, but I hope he feels the same way.”

Niall laughed, “He definitely feels the same way, mate. He barely took his eyes off you all night. He looks at you like you hung the fucking moon.”

Louis blushed deeply, mumbling some sort of half-assed denial.

 

\----

Chants of “Love, not hate, makes America great”, and “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” rang in Louis’ ears and warmed his heart as the cold Idaho weather nipped at his face. He stood with a crowd of like-minded people chanting, and for the first time since the election, he felt hope for the political climate in the United States.

He was surrounded by his closest friends and he didn’t think he could be any more full of adrenaline than he was. That is, until he looked at Harry, to see him staring right back.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the desire to warm up in the ungodly cold weather, maybe it was the culmination of the last semester and a half, or maybe it was just meant to be. His eyes locked with Harry’s and it was as though gravity had pulled them closer.

Harry looked down at Louis’ lips, and Louis at his. They paused for a moment and then their lips were crashing together like they’d die if they ever broke apart. Naturally, they did have to break apart for air eventually, and Louis giggled to himself about how straight-out-of-his-dreams it was to be kissed passionately at a political protest by a tall, hot, heavily tattooed man who shared his political beliefs.


	3. one grain of sand - ron pope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underdressed pizza dates, crying through Queer Eye and avoiding conversations about emotions, like the rest of us. 
> 
> CW for excessive weed usage (I know it's been mentioned in every chapter thus far, but this is the first time it actually gets described), and for brief and only vaguely hinted at abusive relationship concepts (past).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! As I'm posting this, I'm just shy of 100 hits and almost at 10 kudos! I'm hoping that posting this will get me over both of those milestones. Thank you to anyone who has read or enjoyed any part of this fic. I've had some internet connectivity issues recently so that's why this is going up late (I use MS Word online so I was really screwed as far as being able to upload) but it seems to be working fine now.   
> Find me at heterophobiclarry on tumblr for "the sun came down the mountains" tumblr exclusives such as pictures of the real areas they go in the fic, as well as answers to any questions that I get about the characters / plot. Everything is under the tag "tscdtm".   
> Thanks for reading!

Since the inauguration protest, Harry and Louis had effectively become inseparable. It was like a floodgate had broken and all of the pent-up physical desires they had for each other couldn’t stop spilling out. They’d had quite a few make out sessions in Harry’s apartment, but had yet to actually go on a proper date, and Louis decided that he should fix that. 

Despite the fact that they’d already been rather intimate, Louis found himself feeling particularly nervous. He and Harry hadn’t really talked about the emotional aspect of their relationship yet, as they’d been mostly just physical thus far. 

Louis was afraid that Harry would only want to be physical with him, especially since he had just gotten out of a relationship. He was afraid that bringing up what they were doing would break Harry from some sort of trance and he would come to his senses, but he decided to bite the bullet and ask him on a date anyway. 

\--- 

It wasn’t that Harry didn’t want to date Louis, but the thought of being seen in public with another guy so soon after he broke up with Nick, made his stomach churn. He’d never been good at not caring what other people thought of him. And, god forbid, he and Louis could run into Nick, which would be a nightmare. There were so many things that could go wrong and Harry almost had to text Louis and tell him that he couldn’t make it. 

But then he thought about Louis, thought about the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles, the way his eyes light up when he starts talking about something he’s passionate about, the way that the two of them could banter back and forth like nobody’s business, and suddenly his worries disappeared. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought as long as he had Louis by his side to make him laugh at any given time. 

So, instead of nervously lying in bed, trying to come up with an excuse not to go, he nervously stood in his closet, trying to pick the perfect outfit to wear. He wasn’t entirely sure where he and Louis were going, so he just settled and hoped they weren’t going anywhere too fancy. 

 

\--- 

Louis was full of nerves as he pulled into the parking lot at Harry’s apartment complex. He was taking Harry to an upscale pizza place in the heart of the downtown. He’d never been there but when he’d asked Niall for a restaurant recommendation, that had been his suggestion and Louis trusted his judgement. 

He shot Harry a text to let him know that he was waiting outside and turned up the music he had been playing on the drive over, knowing it was one of Harry’s favorite albums. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, anxious about the impending date for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. 

He lit up when he finally saw Harry walking towards his car, looking absolutely radiant, and his nerves immediately washed away and replaced with excitement. Harry got into the car, greeting Louis with a kiss on the cheek. 

“So, where are we going? Hopefully nowhere too fancy because I’m not dressed for it.”, Harry said awkwardly. 

Looking down at his own, relatively casual outfit, Louis responded, “I was just thinking we’d go to the pizza place downtown and maybe we could go back to my dorm and watch something on Netflix afterward if you wanted.” 

“That sounds absolutely perfect.” Harry said, buckling his seatbelt and then pausing, “Wait, will Niall be in the dorm?” 

Louis let out a laugh, “No, he’s at his parents’ house for the weekend.” 

\--- 

The atmospheric lighting in the restaurant somehow made Harry more beautiful than he was in normal lighting, something about the flickering of the candle at their table accentuated his jawline in just the right way. Louis caught himself staring more than once. 

After one particularly long, unabashed period of checking Harry out, Harry smirked and reached out to hold his hand across the table. 

Heart fluttering, Louis asked, “I don’t want to ruin the moment, but aren’t you worried about someone seeing us and telling Nick? I know you’re not with him anymore but he seems volatile.” 

Harry looked down, collecting his thoughts. It was a moment before he spoke, “Yeah, I am worried. But I’m not with Nick anymore, it’s not his business what I do or who I do it with.” 

Louis nodded, mostly satisfied with the answer Harry gave, “Well, if he tries to fight you, I’ll be there to kick him in the knees and then in his ridiculous face.” 

Harry let out one of his unabashed honk-laughs, answering Louis only once he’d finally composed himself, “If he tries to fight me, you’re the first person I’ll call.” 

After they’d eaten more pizza than they should have, they got up to pay the bill, still hand in hand. 

\--- 

Despite the fact that Louis barely fit in his twin bed by himself, he and Harry found themselves tangled up in each other on his bed as they browsed through trending titles on Netflix. Harry was the first to speak up in quite a while, “Did you watch Queer Eye yet? I’ve only seen the first few episodes but it’s so good and I wouldn’t mind starting at the beginning to watch with you.” 

And that’s precisely how they ended up crying into each other’s arms at 2 in the morning. 

Louis giggled, sniffling a bit, “Why did you make me watch this? Why do you hate me?” 

Harry threw back his head and laughed, “I wanted to finish it but I couldn’t do it alone. I figured I’d drag you down with me.” 

Louis laughed as he closed his laptop, moving closer still to Harry. “So, we should talk.” 

Harry sighed, “I know.” 

Louis took a deep breath, “I’m just going to say what I need to say and then you can talk, just don’t interrupt me.” 

Harry nodded slowly, suddenly anxious about what Louis might say. 

“So, from the first time I saw you, I was interested in you. I wasn’t even that interested in Polisci Club at the time, I just wanted to become friends with you. When I would sit with my friends at Liam and Zayn’s, I would spend most of my time thinking that the only thing missing there was you. Niall almost stopped smoking with me because all I would talk about high was how pretty you are. I love what we’re doing and if making out is all we ever do, that’s fine with me. But if you’d have me, I would love to be your boyfriend...” he paused and blushed a little, “and maybe we could even have sex...if you wanted to. The bottom line is that I want to do anything and everything with you, and I’ll wait as long as you feel like you need, go as slow as you want to.” 

Harry broke into a smile, “I want to do all of those things with you. I am nervous about what other people will think, I won’t lie to you. More than that, I’m terrified about how Nick will react, and I don’t want him to do anything to you. It’s not like he’d attack you or anything but... he can be a real douche and I’m just... afraid.” 

Louis smiled and took Harry’s hands, “I can be a douche with the best of them, if that’s what’s necessary. I don’t care about that, I just want to be with you. Nothing else matters to me. If you want to date me, don’t worry about him. I can handle that.” 

Not knowing what to say, Harry just leaned in and kissed him. 

“What does that mean?” Louis asked, pulling away, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” 

Harry smiled, nodding, “I would love to.” 

\--- 

Louis giggled, laying on his back in the grass, “I love when we do this. I love that we met and became roommates and I love -” he paused, taking another drag off the joint in his hand, “hanging out with you.” 

Niall burst into laughter, turning to look at his friend, “Christ, Tommo, how high are you.” 

Louis sighed, closing his eyes, “Very high.” 

Niall grumbled, “Maybe I get stoned too much, I don’t feel shit.” 

Not feeling up to answering, Louis hummed in acknowledgement that his friend had spoken. 

“Anyway,” Niall started off, looking over to see if Louis was even paying attention, “I think we should go on a camping trip with the other guys. All five of us, an eighth, and the unrelenting Idaho wilderness, what do you think?” 

“Do you think Harry has a big cock?” Louis asked, dreamily. 

Niall’s jaw dropped, “What the fuck? I have so many questions. First of all, why would I know? Second of all, you haven’t seen it? Third, were you even fucking listening to me?” 

As if he hadn’t even heard Niall’s questions (he hadn’t), Louis went into graphic detail about his mental image of Harry’s naked body. 

Niall shuddered, “Christ, I’m too sober for this.” and took another hit from the bong in his lap. 

\--- 

The next time that all five of the guys were together in Zayn and Liam’s apartment, Niall brought up the camping idea to the whole group. Everyone enthusiastically agreed to the idea and began dividing up preparation responsibilities. 

As usual, Niall was tasked with getting the weed. Harry and Louis were tasked with grocery shopping for the two nights that they’d be out. Liam and Zayn decided to try and track down a few tents and sleeping bags to make their time in the Idaho wilderness more comfortable. 

They got further than they should have into planning before they realized that they hadn’t set an actual date for their adventure. In an attempt to remedy that situation, they compared work and school schedules and were fortunate to realize that they all would be able to go camping the coming weekend, giving them about a week and a half to compile everything that they needed. 

 

\--- 

Louis vaguely remembered seeing a quote somewhere about making sure to date someone that could make even trips to the grocery store into an adventure. If that was the criteria for having a good relationship, Louis had succeeded when he landed Harry. 

He giggled as Harry made yet another stupid joke, asking Louis how much he’d have to pay in order to make him eat a pair of slippers that was being advertised as half off. 

They piled more food than they’d ever conceivably be able to eat into the cart, enjoying more financial freedom than they might have had otherwise, given that everyone had chipped in for food and booze money. 

Enjoying themselves in the grocery store more than either of them had ever thought was possible, they weren’t exactly paying attention to their surroundings, which proved to be a very bad thing. 

Naturally, between kissing in the produce section and throwing various bags of chips at each other in the junk food aisle, they hadn’t realized that Harry’s ex also happened to be at the store. 

The events that follows aren’t exactly clear in Harry’s head, but he thinks that Nick and Louis saw each other at approximately the same time, causing Nick to aggressively approach them. 

Louis ushered Harry towards the self-checkout, muttering something about getting out of there before something bad happened. This, of course, only served to make Nick angrier than he may have been otherwise. 

Nick scoffed, “I knew you were fucking Louis behind my back. I almost felt guilty about cheating on you, I’m glad we’re even so I don’t have to.” 

Harry looked down at the ground, not knowing how to respond. Louis, however, upon taking a look at Harry, had plenty of things to say. 

“Why don’t you fuck off, Nick? Harry didn’t even touch me until at least three weeks after you guys broke up. Most of our friendship before that was just me listening to him when he needed to vent about what an awful fucking person you are. Now leave us alone, or I’ll make sure you regret it.” 

Nick rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah, I’m sure Harry’s fed you a bunch of bullshit about me but, believe what you want. Enjoy his tiny cock and his foot fetish” 

Both Harry and Louis burst out laughing as Nick walked away. Louis turned to Harry, “Do you -” he paused to laugh, “Do you actually have a foot fetish?” 

Harry narrowed his eyes, still laughing a bit, “Of course I don’t.” 

“Well, if you did... or had any fetish, and we were...sexually involved, I hope you know you’d be able to talk to me about it and we could experiment with stuff.” 

Harry resumed laughing, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think we should have the big kink negotiation conversation in the middle of the fucking Winco junk food aisle. Let’s get out of here.” 

Hands intertwined, still laughing, they finally reached the self-checkout and managed to leave the store in one piece.


	4. coeur d'alene - the head and the heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're not really an Idahoan until you've been stuck in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, a nearly empty gas tank, and no hope of being able to get help because the only living things for miles are moose and salmon. Good thing you brought your camping equipment...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lake is pronounced pond-array, don't be fooled by the ridiculous spelling... also the title is from another place in Idaho that's kinda close to where this is set, and if you don't know, it's pronounced cord-elaine. You guys are going to be seasoned Idahoans by the end of this fic. CDA is how we refer to Coeur d'Alene because none of us can spell it. Also while I'm at it, whenever you see Boise mentioned anywhere... it's pronounced boy-sea... not boy-zee. I'm thoroughly convinced you all can seamlessly become Idahoans now.   
> Also the moose thing really happened to me in a way. The first time I ever saw a moose, it was the middle of the night and I was somewhere between Bovill and Elk River when, my moose-seeing virginity was stolen by the giant moose that I nearly plowed into with my car.

Louis is pretty sure that he and Harry surpassed “overpacked”, several bags ago but Harry wasn’t showing signs of stopping anytime soon. Louis giggled as Harry threw yet another flannel out of his closet, “Harry, we’re only going to be there for two and a half days.” 

Harry pursed his lips and sighed, “Yeah, I know but, I like to be prepared for anything.” 

Louis burst out laughing, “You and fifty of your closest friends could be prepared for anything, with everything you’re bringing.” 

Harry smirked, “You’re right. Oh well.” 

Niall walked into the bedroom, “Are you guys done yet? We should head over to Liam and Zayn’s soon if we want to get to the campsite before it gets dark out.” 

\--- 

Before they knew it, the five of them were packed into Louis’ beat-up Honda Civic, on the way towards Lake Pend Orielle. Naturally they stopped in the gas station on the way out of town to buy far more snacks than were necessary for the road trip, before they were back on the road. 

Harry sat in the front seat, taking his duty as navigator very seriously, while Liam, Niall and Zayn crammed into the tiny backseat. From the drivers' seat, Louis laughed, "I should not be the one driving, I've been in Idaho for the least amount of time! If we get lost, none of you can blame me." 

"We won’t get lost," Harry said with a chuckle, "You happen to have the best navigator in the world by your side." 

\--- 

An hour and a half later, Harry was sleeping, Liam and Zayn were fighting, Niall had headphones in to block out said fighting, and Louis was hopelessly lost. Aggravated that nobody was helping him figure out where to go, he finally pulled over. 

After the car slowed to a stop, Louis spoke, "So, I'm pretty sure we're lost and the GPS doesn’t even know where we are...someone else needs to drive because I'm about to lose it." 

Niall volunteered to take the wheel and they were back on their way until, "Louis...weren't you paying attention to the gas?" 

Pausing for a moment, "I...figured we'd stop somewhere when we got back on the highway." 

Niall sighed, pulling over again "Louis, this is Idaho. There's like 5 gas stations in the entire state. Didn't I tell you that Tensed was the last station for a while?" 

Harry piped up, "I don't think you did, I forgot that he probably wouldn't have known or I would have mentioned it. How low is it?" ' 

Niall groaned, "It's bad. I don't think we're going to make it to the next town...Can you search for a gas station on your phone?" 

"Yeah, just a second," Harry said, picking up his phone and turning off the music. "Fuck. There's no service." 

Breaking the awkward silence, Liam said, "Okay well, first we need to figure out where we are. Fortunately, we do happen to be uniquely prepared to spend the night in the middle of a forest if we do end up being stuck here." 

\--- 

None of the boys were able to get signal on their phones despite desperate attempts. Finally, Louis sighed, "Okay so I really doubt that climbing on my car anymore is going to get us signal. What's plan b?" 

Liam spoke up, "The way I see it, we have three options. We could walk back towards the last town, which would be at least ten miles. We could say fuck it, camp here tonight and make a decision in the morning, or we could drive back that way and hope the gas doesn't run out in a less convenient spot." 

Pursing his lips, Louis responded, "We should vote. I personally think we should stay here tonight and then walk towards town, because it's kind of getting dark already and it would be shit to be stuck walking back here in the dark." 

As he looked around at the rest of the group, he saw that everyone was nodding in agreement. "Okay, so that's settled then. Let's find a good spot for the tent." 

\--- 

Zayn burst out laughing as they were unloading the gear, "Jesus Christ, Harry. How many people did you pack for?" 

Harry laughed too, "Louis did tell me that I may have over-packed a bit." 

"But," Liam interjected, putting his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, "We'll all be glad to use Harry's extra shit tonight because it looks like it's going to be cold." Louis locked up his car and they trudged into the forest to search for a comfortable spot. 

Louis was leading the group, mostly because he felt responsible for their issue and felt the need to try and fix it. Everyone else lagged behind a bit, chatting idly among themselves. They were brought out of their daze by Louis' bloodcurdling shriek. 

"What the actual FUCK is that?!" he said, trembling a bit as he pointed at a moose just off to the side of the quasi-trail they'd been on. 

The rest of the boys burst out laughing, before Harry collected himself to say, “It’s just a moose, baby. Haven’t you seen one before?” 

Still incredulous, Louis replied, “That thing must be mutant! It’s fucking huge!” 

“It’s really not that big, It's pretty standard for a moose, actually”, interjected Liam. 

\--- 

After what felt like eternity, they finally came upon a relatively nice-looking clearing near a lake they assumed was the Harrison Slough. They divided up preparation duties, resulting in Liam, Zayn and Niall attempting to set up the tent, and Louis and Harry searching for suitable wood for a fire. 

\--- 

Louis giggled as Harry failed yet again to get the kindling to catch fire, ”Just let me do it, I’ve watched a ridiculous amount of those stupid survival shows and I’m pretty sure I can get it to work.” 

Harry handed the materials over with a smirk. ”Go ahead.” 

Louis got to work, and Harry’s smirk slowly melted as Louis got the fire started on his first try, “I told you, you should be watching Naked and Afraid with me.” 

As the fire really started to grow, Louis busied himself setting out hot dog condiments and Harry went over to check on the tent progress. Liam, Zayn and Niall clearly weren’t tent-building experts, as demonstrated by the fact that, an hour and a half after initially attempting to figure out how to put it together, they still hadn’t quite managed to get it right. 

The combined effort of the four of them finally achieved the goal, right around the time that Louis, the condiments and the fire were ready for dinner. The boys set out camping chairs in a circle around the fire, each grabbing a stick to roast hotdogs on. 

\--- 

Naturally, Niall pulled out a couple of joints in between the cooking and eating parts of their dinner, “Is it even camping if you don’t bring weed?” 

Laughing, Harry held out his hand for a joint and was quickly obliged. Harry put the joint between his lips, and lit it, using his other hand to shield the tip from the wind. He took a drag, and with his exhale, said “It’s been a long fucking day. Nothing ever goes as planned with you guys but, I kinda wouldn’t rather be stuck in the middle of nowhere with anyone else. 

Louis leaned over and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, “We’ll get back to school somehow, even if we have to ride one of those fucking mutant moose.” 

They passed the joint around the circle, talking easily as they finished their dinner and began roasting s’mores. After the weed, s’mores and a fifth of vodka shared amongst them, they talked as the fire turned to embers and finally, after hours, packed into the tiny tent like sardines. 

\--- 

When Harry woke up, he and Louis were the only ones left in the tent. Leaving Louis’ sleeping form, he crawled out of the tent to see where the others were. Niall was the only one in sight, and his back was facing Harry as he appeared to be staring blankly at the forest, lit joint in hand. “Hey, where are Liam and Zayn?” 

Niall jumped, turning towards Harry. “Liam met some guy while he was on a run this morning, who offered to take him to town to get gas for the car. Zayn didn’t want to let him go alone in case the guy was a murderer. They asked me to go too but” he gestured at the joint, ”I had better things to do.” 

Harry smirked, taking the joint from Niall, “How long ago did they leave?” he took a drag, “How can we be sure that they didn’t both get murdered?” 

“It’s only like 9 in the morning, they left like fifteen minutes ago. I figure it’ll take them at least 45 minutes to make it to town so we probably won’t see them until 10 or later.” 

Humming in response, he busied himself looking to see if they’d brought any breakfast food. He quickly realized that they hadn’t brought anything complex and settled on a banana. 

\--- 

By the time Louis woke up, Liam and Zayn had returned from their possible-serial-killer adventure with a couple gallons of gas in plastic jugs and some gas station pastries for everyone. Gasoline crisis averted, they decided to stay at the same campsite, but dedicate the day to hiking around the area in hopes of exploring and finding potential campsites for the future. 

They finally happened upon a mostly secluded lake, and after Harry ripped off his clothes and flung himself in, the rest had no choice but to follow. An almost shameful amount of time passed while they were splashing around, cleaning off the past day’s grime and avoiding the heat of the midday sun.


End file.
